What does Nick Foles’ arrival mean for Mitch Trubisky? We await word from Bears GM Ryan Pace.

© John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune/TNS Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky, left, on the sideline against the Lions on Nov. 28, 2019, at Ford Field in Detroit.

The Bears welcomed quarterback Nick Foles on Wednesday afternoon with an appropriately bizarre message, given the circumstances.

The NFL decided this week to proceed with free agency amid the coronavirus crisis, but it added restrictions. One was that teams may not bring players to their facilities for physicals and may not announce any moves until physicals have been completed. Third-party physicals, however, can be arranged in players' home cities.

That meant that when the new league year opened at 3 p.m. Wednesday, most teams couldn't officially announce their big deals.

So instead, the Bears posted Foles' photo over an orange background on their Twitter account with this message: "Per @NFLNetwork reports, we have traded for QB @NickFoles. (NFL policy currently prohibits teams from making any official announcements.)"

They also tagged Snickers, apparently a marketing partner for their announcements this year. They did the same shtick for the signings of edge rusher Robert Quinn and tight end Jimmy Graham.

The messages were a cheeky way to get around the NFL restrictions, but with the Foles non-announcement comes a major question. If the Bears have to put off announcing the trade, when will the media get to speak to general manager Ryan Pace about it?

That's when we'll see how the Bears frame taking on a new quarterback for $20.125 million in guaranteed money and what it means for former No. 2 pick Mitch Trubisky. Will they still stick to their refrain that Trubisky is the starter — until he's not? Will they declare it an open competition? Or will they hand the reins to Foles, a ninth-year NFL veteran now on his fifth team?

Foles, despite being something of a postseason legend for his unlikely run to become Super Bowl LII MVP, was one of the quarterbacks on the market this week whose acquisition could be open to interpretation.

There was much debate about potentially benching Trubisky last season as he quarterbacked one of the worst offenses in the NFL, but it never really happened, unless you count his mysterious hip pointer against the Rams.

Foles actually was benched. After he returned from a broken collarbone in the opener that kept him out of the next eight games, he played only 2 1/4 u00bd more games before the Jaguars went back to rookie Gardner Minshew because of Foles' poor play. He hasn't started more than five games in a regular season since 2015.

So now the Bears have two quarterbacks coming off rocky seasons, continued uncertainty about how this offseason will play out at the position and a new dynamic to navigate.

"The biggest thing is creating competition," Bears coach Matt Nagy said on the Tribune's Bear Download podcast last month about bringing in another quarterback. "It's being able to be somebody that can come in and just immerse themselves in this offense, understanding that and doing everything possible to always be the No. 1 quarterback."

If Pace is determined to give his draft pick another chance at turning into the player he envisioned in 2017, there won't be much slack. Trubisky has had three seasons, two in Nagy's offense, to prove himself and has done it only in occasional spurts.

Even as badly as Pace might want Trubisky to succeed, he must know the time for patience has passed. And the fact Foles has experience with Nagy, offensive coordinator Bill Lazor and quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo from previous stops makes it even easier to see him sliding in to take the job from Trubisky.

Even before the trade, Nagy acknowledged the urgency for Trubisky is "highly elevated."

"That's what's important is knowing this is where we're at right now," Nagy said. "Two years ago, coming in, brand-new offense, (he) knows nothing. … Now you're getting into your third year. It's time.

"But he knows and understands the sense of urgency we have, so I expect him to take it head on."

That is, unless Foles takes that chance from him.

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